Chef Abhiraj Khatwani is the [handsome] Indian chef whose cooking expertise was honed in north-east Thailand before opening The Yellow Monkey, a casual Thai gem at JBR that I used to frequent years ago until Covid shut its doors. Mohamad Orfali of Orfali Bros Bistro fame, the Midas touch chef has backed him to open a 34-seat restaurant in Wasl Vita, solely dedicated to a Thai-inspired tasting menu. I first tried to book Manao at the end of January via the website’s reservations link, but the earliest availability for a table of two was a month away.